Track grinder



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I filings April 20, 1937.A H. J. PEAzzoLl TRACK GRINDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1934 .wa W f v April 20, 193?. H. J. PERAzzoLl TRACK GRINDER l Filed Nov. 12, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway track grinders and particularly tov means for balancing or clamping the grinders with respectI to the track rail in a position relative to the surface thereof to be ground.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device for supporting or clampinga track grinding machine with respect to the track rail and relative to the surface thereof to be ground. A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the general character set forth having novel mechanisms for operating the clamping device to engage the track rail as well as to readily and easily release the same therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character set forth which, while elfectively clamping or supporting the grinding machine in position with respect to the surface of the track rail, enables the operator of the grinding machine to move the same longitudinally of the rail to another grinding position without releasing said clamps from the rail.

Other objects and features of the invention and the details of construction thereof are set forth hereinafter and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of one end of a track grinder embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in elevation of the clamping device together with the mechanism for operating and controlling the same.

Fig. 3 is a view in section vertically through. the disclosure in Fig. 2; and l Fig. 4 is a View similar to the disclosure in Fig. 3 showing the clamping device in engagement with the head of a track rail.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numerals I, I designate longitudinal side frame members of a track grinder 4o which are respectively connected together at their ends by means of a member 2. A plate 3 is permanently secured to the outer face of the transverse portion of the member 2 by means of bolts 4, and a substantially cylindrical casing 5 is disposed vertically with respect to the said plate 3 and permanently secured thereto such as by welding or the like.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, an annular element E is permanently secured transversely of the casing 5 at a point longitudinally thereof approximately midway between the ends of said casing. A rod or shaft 1 is slidably supported within the casing 5 by means of the annular element 6, and a disk 8 is secured to the lower end k of said rod or shaft 1 below the annular element 6, and arranged to move with the shaft longitudinally of the casing 5, the said disk 8 being of such diameter that its periphery contacts the inner wall of said casing. The disk IS is provided with a lateral projecting pin 9 which extends outwardly through a vertical slot III formed axially of the casing member 5 adjacent the lower end thereof as shown in Figs. 2 aid 3. A second disk II similar to the disk 8 isthreaded on t0 the upper end of the rod or shaft 1 and a spring I2 is coiled about the latter intermediate the said disk II and the fixed annular member 6. 'I'hus it will be seen by referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings that the aforementioned spring I2 is compressible between the annular element 6 and the disk II, the said spring I2 expanding with respect to the iixed annular stop 6 and function- 'ing to retain the rod or shaft 1 in its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 3 and resist downward movement thereof within the casing 5.

In the present instance a pair of substantially L-shaped levers or arms I3 are pivotally connected together in opposed relation by means of a pin I4 approximately at the mid-point of the longer arms thereof, said pivot pin I4 being of suicient length to permit the same to project through the aforementioned vertical slot I0 in the lower portion of the casing 5 and a substantial distance beyond the outer surface of the latter for a purpose which will later appear. The ends of the longer arms of the levers I3 are each pivotally connected as at I5 to one end of a link I6, the other ends .of said links being pivotally connected as at l1 to the disk 8 on the lower end of the shaft 1, and diametrically opposed vertical slots I 8 are formed in the lower end portion of the casing 5 to allow for free passage and movement of said levers I3 and links I6 relatively with respect to said casing.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4 of the drawings, a cam or roller member I9 is rotatably mounted upon the lower end of each of the levers or arms I 3 by means of roller bearings 2U retained in position by means of a washer 2l, the said cam or roller member I9 being secured upon the lower end of the arms I3 by means of a nut 22. With reference to the drawings it will be noticed that the lower circumferential portion of the cam or roller members I9 projects outwar'dly to provide a peripheral shoulder or flange 3l, the purpose for which will be set forth hereinafter.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 2, an arm 23 preferably formed integrally with the casing 5 extends laterally of said casing parallel to the transverse supporting plate 3 previously mentioned, and an actuating arm or lever 24 is pivotally connected at one end to the extremity of said arm 23 by means of a pin 25. A link 26 is pivotally connected at its upper end to the actuating arm or lever 24 at 21, the said link 26 being disposed axially of the casing 5 and connected at its other end to the laterally projecting pin 9 on the disk 8 which is secured to the lower end of the shaft l. A locking device'28 having a hook portion 29, arranged to engage the previously mentioned pin I4, and a handle or actuating arm 30 is pivotally mounted on the pin 9 to which the lower end of the link 26 is pivotally connected. Y

In the present instance the upper end"A of the casing 5 is provided with a cap 5aafor. thepurpose of preventing dust and other foreign materials from entering the interior of;r sa'.id"casing` anda stop 32 is secured diametrically acrossvthe.- bottom end of the casing 5 for the purpose of 'preventing downward displacement of the shaft and the disk 8 beyond the walls of said casing.

As is customary the' grinding machineY is supported upon thesurfaceof' a track rail,l 33Y having a head 34, by means of a traction wheel 35 mounted upon a shaft 35 and supported in arms 3I` which are secured to and depend from the longitudinalside frame members I,.I of the machine.

In operation ofthe device with the traction wheels 35 ofthe machine resting upon the surface of the head. 34 of the-rail 33, and locking deviceV in engagement with the pin I4`, the lever 24 is actuated in the direction of the arrow in` Fig. 2thereby exerting a downward force upon the shaft leand moving the same downwardly against the compression force'ofy the spring I2. The lever 24 is actuated downwardly inthe above manner until the shafty 'l and the pivotally mounted arms I3 suspended therefrom haveA been lowered suicientlyY to enable the'rollers I9 on the arms I3 to engage the head of the rail when the handle 30 of the locking device 28 is actuated to disengage the hook portion 29- thereof from engagement with the pin If4f. When this locking device has been released from the pin I4 in the aforementioned manner, the relative weight of the cam or roller members I9' at the lower ends of the arms I3 is sufficient to cause said arms I3 to pivot by gravity about said pin I4 toward each other and the track rail and engage the sides of the headv thereof as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Of course, when downward pressure upon the actuating arm 24' is released they spring I2 will expand and tend to raise the shaft l within the casing 5. The spring I2 will not attain maximum expansion however, since the rollers I9 engaging the rail head will permit the shaft 1 to move upwardlybut a small distance into the casing 5; thus' leaving sucient compressionin the spring I2 to effectively maintain the grinding machine firmly uponthe track rails through engagement of saidV rails by the cam or roller members I9 previously described.

By rotatably mounting the cam or rollermembers I9` upon the lower ends of 'the levers I3 in the manner previously described, it is possible to move' the grinding machine longitudinally of the track rail 33 from one grinding position to another, without the necessity of continually releasing and reengaging the said cam or roller members I9 with the head 34 of the track rail 33 foreach change ofy position of the machine. AS the' grinding machine is moved longitudinally of the track rail the clamping. effect of the cam roller I9 is not destroyed but the same will merely ride or roll along the sides of the said rail head without the shoulder or lip 3| thereof, becoming disengaged from the underside surfaces thereof.

In order to release the rollers I9 from engagement with the rail head 34 the lever 24 is actuated downwardly a sufficient distance to enable the hook v29 of the locking device 28 to engage the pin I4, at which time the arms I3 will have become relatively separated to-release the rollers I 9 from the head 34 as a result of the continued downward movement of the shaft l. When the locking device is in engagement with the pin I4 the lever 24 may be released and the clamping device will be elevated to the position shown in Figli of the drawings by expansion of the spring I2.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has beenset forth for the purpose of description, it is not intended that the invention be precisely limited thereto but that anychanges and modifcations may be made Without departing from the spirit of the inventionwhere within the scope of the annexedi claims.

What Iiclaim is:

1. A device for'clampingsand' supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including arms pivotally connected to each other in opposed relation, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to 5:

permit the ends of said-arms to swing toward each other by gravity, and means operable to lower the arms so that upon upward movement thereof and release of the locking means, said arms will swing toward each other and engage the rail head'.

2. A device for clamping and supportingmobile units upon railway track rails, including arms pivotally connected to each other in opposed relation, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to permit the ends of said arms to swing toward each other by gravity, rollers having a circumferential flange mounted at the lower ends of the arms, means operable to lower said arms so that upon upwardv movement thereof and release of said locking means the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the lower side edges of the rail head, and means tending to resist downward movement of said arms.

3. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a vertically movable rod, means tending to resist movement of said rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and said rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to relatively separate the ends of the arms and lower the same so that upon upward movement of said rod the arms will swing toward each other and engage the lower side edges of the rail head.

4. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a vertically movable rod, means tending to resist movement of said rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, rollers having a circumferential iange mounted at the lower ends of said arms, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to relatively separate the ends of the arms and lower the same so that upon upward movement of the rod the arms will swing toward each other by gravity and engage Vthe rollers with the lower side edges of the rail head.

' 5. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track. rails, including a vertically movable rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to permit the ends of said arms toswing toward each other by gravity, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to lower the arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of the locking means said arms will swing toward each other and engage the lower side edges of the rail head.

6. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a vertically movable rod, means tending to resist movement of said rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to permit the ends of the arms to swing toward each other by gravity, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to lower the arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of the locking means the arms will swing together toward each other and engage the lower side edges of the rail head.

7. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a vertically movable rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasalole to permit the ends of said arms to swing toward each other by gravity, rollers having a circumferential flange mounted at the lower ends of the arms, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to lower said arms so that upon upward movement oi the rod and release of the said locking means, the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the lower side edges of the rail head.

8. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a vertically movable rod, means tending to resist downward movement of said rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to permit the ends of said arms to swing toward each other by gravity, rollers having a circumferential flange mounted at the lower ends of the arms, and means for downy wardly actuating the rod to lower said arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of said locking means, the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the lower side edges of the rail head.

9. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a casing, a rod movable axially within the casing, means tending to resist displacement of said rod with respect to the casing, a disk mounted at the lower end of the rod and movable therewith, a pin projecting laterally from said disk and extending through a slot in said casing, arms pivotally connected together in opposed relation to each other, links pivotally connecting the upper ends of said arms to the disk, roller members having a peripheral flange rotatably mounted at the lower ends of each of said arms, a locking device pivotally mounted upon the laterally projecting pin and engaging the common pivot of said arms to secure the same in separated relation, and means for actuating the rod to lower the arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of the locking means the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the underside edges of the rail head.

10. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a casing, a rod movable axially within the casing, means tending to resist displacement of said rod with respect to the casing, a disk mounted at the lower end of the rod and movable therewith, a pin projecting laterally from said disk and eX- tending through a slot in said casing, arms pivotally connected together in opposed relation to each other, links pivotally connecting the upper ends of said arms to the disk, a locking device pivotally mounted upon the laterally projecting pin and engaging the common pivot of said arms to secure the same in separated relation, and means for actuating the rod tolower the arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of the locking means the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the underside edges of the rail head.

11. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a movable rod, a disk mounted at the lower end of the rod and movable therewith, a pin projecting laterally from said disk, arms pivotally connected together in opposed relation to each other, links pivotally connecting the upper ends of said arms to the disk, a locking device pivotally mounted upon the laterally projecting pin and engaging the common pivot of said arms to secure the same in separated relation, and means for actuating the rod to lower the larms so that upon upward movement of the rod and release of the locking means the arms will swing toward each other and engage the rollers with the underside edges of the rail head.

12. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units upon railway track rails, including a casing, a rod movable axially within the casing, means tending to resist displacement of said rod with respect to the casing, a disk mounted at the lower end of the rod and movable therewith, a pin projecting laterally from said disk and extending through a slot in said casing, arms pivotally connected together in opposed relation to each other, links pivotally connecting the upper ends of said arms to the disk, roller members having a peripheral flange rotatably mounted at the lower ends of each of said arms, a locking device pivotally mounted upon the laterally projecting pin and engaging the common pivot of said arms to secure the same in separated relation, an arm for actuating the rod downwardly against the compression of the spring to place the rollers at the lower ends of the pivotally opposed arms in a position relative to the head of the track rail whereby the -arms may swing toward each other by gravity upon release of said locking device and engage the rollers at the lower ends thereof with the lower side edges of said rail head.

13. A device for clamping and supporting mobile units 'upon railwaytrack rails, including a vertically movable rod, arms pivotally connected to each other and the rod in opposed relation with respect to each other, means for locking the arms in relatively separated position, said means being releasable to permit the ends of said arms to swing toward each other by gravity, members having a circumferential flange mounted at the lower ends of the arms, and means for downwardly actuating the rod to lower said arms so that upon upward movement of the rod and re- 10 members pivotally mounted for movement toward and away from each other, yielding means normally urging said members toward each other to clamp the rail therebetween, means for separating said members against the action of said yielding means, and means for raising said clamp members above rail clamping position and for lowering said members into clamping position while the said members are in relatively separated position.

HENRY J. PERAZZOLI. 

